You can’t go wrong with this recipe from The Lodge. I brought these brownies to a beach party last week, and my friends raved about them!
Two important disclaimers:
1. Yes, there are three layers, but don’t be daunted—each layer is really easy to make.
2. Yes, there is one stick of margarine per layer! But, this is, after all, a dessert. And as my friend reminded me recently, some things just weren’t made to be fat or sugar-free. In his words, “I would rather eat a little of something good than get full on something tasteless or gross.”
I’d love to hear what you think of these brownies, and who you end up feeding them to. And feel free to share your favorite dessert recipe here. I’m sure others with a sweet tooth like me would be delighted to try them!
Brownie
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
½ cup margarine, softened
4 eggs
1 (16-ounce) can Hershey syrup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients. Beat until smooth. Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake for 25–30 minutes; cool completely.
Mint Cream Center
2 cups powdered sugar
½ cup margarine, softened
1 tablespoon water
¾ teaspoon mint extract
8 drops green food coloring
Combine all ingredients. Beat until smooth.
Chocolate Topping
½ cup margarine
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Melt margarine and chips together. Cool slightly.
Comments
*The following comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Revive Our Hearts. We reserve the right to remove comments which might be unhelpful, unsuitable, or inappropriate.
on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 8:56 am
on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 9:22 am
on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 9:40 am
on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 9:52 am
on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 10:44 am
Praise the Lord! I was going to ask you if butter would also work in Chester's brownies -- sometimes oil (and there's some in margarine, I think) makes baked goods moister. These brownies look great! I'm a big mint fan (have a ton in my garden; it's very easy to grow...)
Here's a recipe for "Seven Layer Cookies". I used to make these when I was a little girl (for bake sales), then lost the recipe. When I got married, a distant relative from the South sent me a southern cookbook, and voila! There they were. Maybe most ladies have this recipe already (it's an American classic), but I wanted to share it in case someone doesn't. Very easy; very rich (don't count the calories! Just be moderate!), and delicious. Tastes better after it has cooled well, though it can be eaten right away. BTW, Laura Gonzalez, your Frozen Lemon Tart was a big hit at my house -- it's great! So simple, too (esp. if you buy a prepared crust). Only suggestion: put in the size of the cans of milk (14 oz. each) for those who may not know. My daughter added wild raspberries to the top ... yum!
Here's the recipe I mentioned:
SEVEN LAYER COOKIES
6 Tbs. butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup coconut
6 ounces chocolate chips (1 cup)
6 ounces buttersctotch chips (1 cup)
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup chopped nuts (*I used walnuts)
Melt butter in an 8 X 8" pan (*I preferred a slightly bigger pan; can also pour in the melted butter). Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter. Spread all the following ingredients over the butter-crumb mixture, making layers starting with the coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and spreading sweetened condensed milk over all these layers. Spread nuts over the condensed milk as the top layer (*I prefer pouring the condensed milk over everything, including the nuts, or pushing the nuts down into the milk). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until golden brown. Set aside and cool before cutting into small squares (*can also leave in the pan and cut as needed -- a little hard to cut when refigerated, but tastes good cold!). Makes 2 dozen 1 1/2 inch cookies.
Enjoy, sisters in Christ! Ps. 90:17
In His abundant love,
on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Would you please share how and when to make the layers? Thank you ever so much!
on Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 4:04 pm
You're right--I used butter myself, and they turned out great.
Re. the layers--make sure the brownie layer is completely cool before you spread the mint layer on top. Then, cool the chocolate topping a bit before pouring on top of the mint layer. Let me know if you still have any questions . . .
And thanks for the Seven Layer Cookies recipe, Leslie!
on Monday, July 20, 2009 at 9:03 am
on Monday, July 20, 2009 at 10:09 am
I don't know if this is what you were asking about, but my healthy, (intelligent) friend Kimi just recommended Earth Balance Buttery Spread to me. It has no transfat, and she uses it for everything.
on Monday, July 20, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Hugs,
Denise
on Monday, July 20, 2009 at 9:25 pm
on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 11:13 am
on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Yep, you add those two layers after the brownies are baked. It's brownies first, then the mint layer, then the chocolate topping. Enjoy!
on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 9:38 am
However, Ladies – please make a few substitutions to include real foods and make these brownies jump from poisonous to nourishing. As mentioned above, I would also offer a big vote too to use real butter, and would very much highly, highly recommend making own chocolate syrup instead of using Heresy’s (Yikes - high fructose corn syrup is dangerous!) and using real chocolate for chips as well.
Also please consider: a natural sweetener instead of refined sugar and skip the food coloring. There are also great sprouted flour options to use as well instead of a processed flour.
Listed below are some great info sites about how great real butter is and using natural sweeteners and sprouted grains. Also included is some info on the disasters of high fructose corn syrup:
http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/butter.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/index.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/transition/sugars.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/HFCSAgave.pdf
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/12/guide-to-natural-sweeteners_08.html
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200409/interview.asp
http://www.cheeseslave.com/
http://www.foodincmovie.com/
http://smallnotebook.org/2009/07/10/homemade-chocolate-syrup/
http://www.creatingheaven.net/eeproducts/eesfc/about_sprouted.html
In Good Health,
on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 3:09 pm
The brownies were delicious! I used real butter and sugar- in- the- raw for the sugar, just FYI. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!
In His love,
on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Leslie, I'm so glad you loved them!
on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 3:31 pm
on Friday, July 24, 2009 at 1:00 am
And actually, that's not a pic of my brownies--I got it off the Internet. So, you can feel even better about your brownies now.
I poured the chocolate glaze on the mint layer almost instantly--just waited a few minutes so the choc sauce wasn't too hot.
I'd love to hear how they turn out, Lauren!
on Friday, July 24, 2009 at 10:04 am
on Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Just a few thoughts -- you made need some help from a more experienced baker next time. It took me a while to learn certain baking basics and "no-no's", over the years -- some recipes assume you know these already. (I had more than one "flop", some pretty funny; we all have. ) There are also cookbooks out there with lots of pictures and detailed instructions.
What might have happened with the brownies is that you did not measure accurately. Also, the older recipes would always tell you to cream (mix 'til smooth) the butter and sugar first; then add the eggs, one at a time (while mixing), then other ingredients (flour often last). You need to use an electic mixer, many times, but in some recipes you can't overmix. And, don't trust your oven -- keep checking (when close to the right time) with a toothpick to see if the brownies are done (when the toothpick comes out clean in the middle, or with a few crumbs but no batter, they're probably done -- cut into and test, if necessary).
With the frosting, you need a "dry measure" measuring cup for the powdered sugar. The glass one is for liquids. The dry can be leveled off with a knife so you know you have the right amount. The mint frosting is very sweet, so if you used too much powdered sugar, it might have gone overboard on sweetness.
Hang in there, keep baking, pray, and ask experienced friends (or relatives) for advice! At least you're on the road to being a great baker!
In His love,
on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 8:41 am
I am proud of you, girl. Seriously. I'm also laughing, thinking about all of my total flops. Sounds like you'll have some funny stories, too. (Isn't it fun to laugh at ourselves sometimes?)
Don't give up. Leslie's right--start watching other women when they bake, and ask them lots of questions.
Thanks for introducing this "n00b" to more Internet slang. So glad you're a part of this blog community!
on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 4:22 pm
on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 6:30 pm